Dota 2 Ti Standings 2018

The International 2018 (TI8) was the eighth iteration of The International, an annual Dota 2 world championship esports tournament. Hosted by Valve, the game's developer, TI8 followed a year-long series of tournaments awarding qualifying points, known as the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC), with the top eight ranking teams being directly invited to the tournament. Observe the Dota 2 The International 2018 standings in World category now and check the latest Dota 2 The International 2018 table, rankings and team performance.

Help: Dota 2 The International standings on Scoreboard.com. Find overall standings, Dota 2 The International home/away tables, Dota 2 The International 2019 results/fixtures. Scoreboard.com provides Dota 2 The International standings, fixtures, live scores, results and match details with additional information (e.g. Head-to-head stats, odds comparison). The Dota Pro Circuit 2018 – 2019. June 4, 2018 - Dota Team. Once the TI Invites and Qualifiers start, teams can no longer change their roster until the conclusion of the TI Main Event. Substitutes can be declared after TI Qualifiers to account for emergencies, subject to approval from Valve. Eighteen teams divided in two groups of nine teams each where they play in a round-robin format. All matches are played in a Bo2. A win (2-0) provides 2 points. A draw (1-1) provides 1 point. A loss (0-2) provides 0 points. Top four teams in each group advance to the Upper Bracket of the Main Event.

Image by PGL

Team Secret is a contender to win the tournament. Their single Major win at Dreamleague Season 8 came off an impressive 3-0 sweep against Team Liquid. But they were squeezed out of our tier as favorites, in part due to their recent stint at the China Supermajor. Though the team had a solid performance in the group stage, finishing 2-0 at the top over competition such as Mineski, the 5th place team on the standings, they quickly bottomed out during the playoffs.

Secret was kicked out of the upper bracket by Team Liquid in a 2-0 sweep, where they were then eliminated by Virtus.Pro, 2-1. The one win Secret had over VP was when VP last picked a Wraith King, a somewhat troll move by Ramzes, who had been pushing his team to pick it for him all tournament. As VP.Solo said later, 'If you pick Wraith King, something went wrong.'

It wouldn't be fair to say that Team Secret has lost momentum in the final months of the season, as they have in previous years. They did just compete in the Upper Bracket of the biggest Major of the year. But in contrast to the top teams entering TI8—VP, Liquid, PSG.LG—Team Secret still has to make a few strides before entering the conversation as one of the best teams in Dota.

Mineski was the first SEA team to win a Major, when they stunned the Dota world by besting PSG.LGD, after being down 1-2 in the best of 5 series. Mushi and iceiceice were also teammates on Team DK, the Chinese superteam in 2013 that also featured Burning, LaNm, and MMY. Up until TI7, iceiceice was part of a select group of players who have attended all TI's.

Not only is Mineski's foundation composed of veteran leaders, they are also coached by 71, who has coached DK and the legendary EHOME during Dota 1. While year after year, SEA is regarded as less competitive than other regions, the teams have been growing stronger in recent years. In TI 2016, 3 SEA teams made it to the top 8, with Fnatic finishing 4th (EE, Abed, Universe, DJ, pieliedie). For this year's TI, Mineski looks like SEA's best shot of bringing home the Aegis.

Without nabbing a Major win, teams have had to scrounge for points to make it to the top 8 of the DPC standings. Vici Gaming has been one of the most consistent teams from China, without a 1st place finish at a tournament. Their biggest win this season was a 2nd place finish at the ESL One Katowice Major, where they were eliminated by the 1st seeded team, Virtus.Pro.

The team is led by Fenrir, who is one of VG's longest franchise players. He was part of the aggressive support duo with Fy in 2014, when the two considered the best supports in the world. The team has a high skill ceiling, in part to the individual talent but also the risks that they take. Eleven and Lanm are both aggressive players who are prone to both game winning or losing plays.

At VG's peak, they look like one of the best teams in Dota. But for now, the team is on the cusp of becoming dominant. There's plenty of time for them to smooth over some of their decision making and strategies in time for TI8.

Even though they finished at 7th in the DPC standings, Newbee is a top tier team. They're far removed from the TI championship team in 2014, but this time around they're captained by Faith, a Dota vet who won TI in 2012. In an era where rosters shuffle even among successful teams, this year's Newbee lineup is unique in that it is the same team from last year, when they placed 2nd to Liquid at TI7.

With the same players, they've had another year under their belt to build chemistry and consistency. At least that's what should have happened. The team has lost momentum since winning their Minor at ESL One Genting in January. They quickly flamed out at DAC—losing 0-2 to EG in the first round—failed to make it out of the group stage at ESL One Birmingham, and at the China Supermajor, VG eliminated Newbee in a 2-0 sweep.

Ultimately, momentum may not matter for this team. Last year, they finished dead last in two Majors, and they ended up placing 2nd at TI.

VGJ.Thunder controlled their own destiny for a TI8 invite entering the China Supermajor. They needed to best Optic Gaming, who was vying for that 8th spot. It didn't look well for VGJ when Optic grabbed an upper bracket slot from the same group. Fortunately for VGJ, Optic finished 5th-6th, which netted them $90,000 but 0 DPC points.

The team is coached by rOTk, a historic Chinese offlaner and respected captain, who voiced concerns about his team after their performance at the Supermajor. He said that his team continues to make the same mistakes, and that he felt limited in his influence as a coach to correct their errors.

By making his frustrations public, rOTk risks unraveling the team apart, but at the same time he could be betting on the social pressure to have VGJ hone in on their mistakes, hopefully just in time for TI8.

Image by Team Liquid

With the final teams set to compete at TI8, we'll be taking a closer look at each of them. While every TI is marked with upsets—wildcard teams like CDEC rising to a 2nd place finish—they wouldn't be upsets without a consensus on what the stronger teams of the tournaments are. The Dota Pro Circuit has given us a metric on how to rank teams on the totem pole. It takes more than just wins at Majors, but also a sustained level of success to reach the top of the DPC standings.

Virtus.Pro is the runaway leader on the standings. The margin they have above the 2nd place team (Team Liquid) is greater than the total points of the 6th place team (Vici Gaming). VP was the first to secure their TI8 invite, and they haven't let up. Virtus.Pro have been on a roll ever since they added RodjER back in February this year. They won the Katowice Major just weeks after he joined, where he also acquired a new Mercedes E400 for being the team's MVP. Three months later, no[o]ne would win his own Benz as VP won ESL Birmingham.

Virtus.Pro plays with the style of aggression marked by CIS teams—a trend dating back to Na'Vi's early days—but they've managed to succeed where their countrymen have failed. Virtus.Pro rarely overextends, able to mete out just enough offense to push their chances of victory, without putting it in jeopardy. That's in part to their team cohesion, but also the decision making of their individual players. No[o]ne and Ramzes, VP's core 1 and 2 players, often initiate without pulling their teammates into a losing battle.

In this clip, they've baited Secret into the gank and successfully turned it around. Most teams would continue pushing here, picking off the remaining team members. It's 2v3 and both Void and OD have their ultimates. But instead, they dance backwards, just briefly, planting a Sentry Ward in case a Shadow Bladed Slark was also in tow. That moment allowed 9pasha to wrap around the back, let VP survey that they were in a winning position, and they finished off the remaining heroes.

Virtus.Pro enters TI8 as the large favorites to win it all. While they did lose to Team Liquid in a close 5 game series at the China Supermajor, VP still maintains a winning head-to-head record against the rest of their competition.

PSG.LGD, sponsored by Paris Saint-Germain, stands out by being one of the best teams in one of the toughest regions. While Chinese teams have not been as dominant in recent years, they still still hold 3 out of the 7 TI titles, and last year's event had 3 Chinese teams out of the top 4.

For a region with a surfeit of exceptional players, LGD has quite a few legendary ones. Maybe, LGD's franchise player since 2015, is one of the best mid players in the world. Fy was one of the best position 4 players, known for his aggressive rotations and spellcasting during his time with VG.

Chalice and xNova were new additions to the team and both were relatively new to higher level of competition. LGD finished 9-12th at their first LAN at ESL Katowice, but then at DAC 2018 they rumbled through Team Liquid and Virtus.Pro toward a 2nd place finish. They ended up losing to Mineski, who won the event.

Then, at Epicenter XL, LGD matched up against both Virtus.Pro and Liquid again. They bested Team Liquid twice, 2-0 in the upper bracket finals and 3-1 in the grand finals, as part of the double elimination format.

Chinese teams make up half of the top 8 on the DPC standings, but the three other teams—Vici Gaming, VGJ.Thunder, and Newbee—have had inconsistent performances. PSG.LGD carries the challenge of bringing the Aegis back to China.

All eyes are on the defending champions as we enter in TI8. They were the first team to ever sweep a TI grand finals, and as champions, they're one of the few teams who hasn't fallen into complacency. Wings.gaming completely dissolved after one of the most impressive runs at TI. Newbee reportedly shifted their gaming grind towards RPGs. It's surprisingly tough to win multiple TI, even if you're trying. Na'Vi came close to winning three years in a row (1st, 2nd, 2nd finishes). And Evil Geniuses, with varying rosters, has had the best success so far, placing top 3 in three consecutive years, in a time when the prize pool completely ballooned to 8 figures.

Team Secret is a contender to win the tournament. Their single Major win at Dreamleague Season 8 came off an impressive 3-0 sweep against Team Liquid. But they were squeezed out of our tier as favorites, in part due to their recent stint at the China Supermajor. Though the team had a solid performance in the group stage, finishing 2-0 at the top over competition such as Mineski, the 5th place team on the standings, they quickly bottomed out during the playoffs.

Secret was kicked out of the upper bracket by Team Liquid in a 2-0 sweep, where they were then eliminated by Virtus.Pro, 2-1. The one win Secret had over VP was when VP last picked a Wraith King, a somewhat troll move by Ramzes, who had been pushing his team to pick it for him all tournament. As VP.Solo said later, 'If you pick Wraith King, something went wrong.'

It wouldn't be fair to say that Team Secret has lost momentum in the final months of the season, as they have in previous years. They did just compete in the Upper Bracket of the biggest Major of the year. But in contrast to the top teams entering TI8—VP, Liquid, PSG.LG—Team Secret still has to make a few strides before entering the conversation as one of the best teams in Dota.

Mineski was the first SEA team to win a Major, when they stunned the Dota world by besting PSG.LGD, after being down 1-2 in the best of 5 series. Mushi and iceiceice were also teammates on Team DK, the Chinese superteam in 2013 that also featured Burning, LaNm, and MMY. Up until TI7, iceiceice was part of a select group of players who have attended all TI's.

Not only is Mineski's foundation composed of veteran leaders, they are also coached by 71, who has coached DK and the legendary EHOME during Dota 1. While year after year, SEA is regarded as less competitive than other regions, the teams have been growing stronger in recent years. In TI 2016, 3 SEA teams made it to the top 8, with Fnatic finishing 4th (EE, Abed, Universe, DJ, pieliedie). For this year's TI, Mineski looks like SEA's best shot of bringing home the Aegis.

Without nabbing a Major win, teams have had to scrounge for points to make it to the top 8 of the DPC standings. Vici Gaming has been one of the most consistent teams from China, without a 1st place finish at a tournament. Their biggest win this season was a 2nd place finish at the ESL One Katowice Major, where they were eliminated by the 1st seeded team, Virtus.Pro.

The team is led by Fenrir, who is one of VG's longest franchise players. He was part of the aggressive support duo with Fy in 2014, when the two considered the best supports in the world. The team has a high skill ceiling, in part to the individual talent but also the risks that they take. Eleven and Lanm are both aggressive players who are prone to both game winning or losing plays.

At VG's peak, they look like one of the best teams in Dota. But for now, the team is on the cusp of becoming dominant. There's plenty of time for them to smooth over some of their decision making and strategies in time for TI8.

Even though they finished at 7th in the DPC standings, Newbee is a top tier team. They're far removed from the TI championship team in 2014, but this time around they're captained by Faith, a Dota vet who won TI in 2012. In an era where rosters shuffle even among successful teams, this year's Newbee lineup is unique in that it is the same team from last year, when they placed 2nd to Liquid at TI7.

With the same players, they've had another year under their belt to build chemistry and consistency. At least that's what should have happened. The team has lost momentum since winning their Minor at ESL One Genting in January. They quickly flamed out at DAC—losing 0-2 to EG in the first round—failed to make it out of the group stage at ESL One Birmingham, and at the China Supermajor, VG eliminated Newbee in a 2-0 sweep.

Ultimately, momentum may not matter for this team. Last year, they finished dead last in two Majors, and they ended up placing 2nd at TI.

VGJ.Thunder controlled their own destiny for a TI8 invite entering the China Supermajor. They needed to best Optic Gaming, who was vying for that 8th spot. It didn't look well for VGJ when Optic grabbed an upper bracket slot from the same group. Fortunately for VGJ, Optic finished 5th-6th, which netted them $90,000 but 0 DPC points.

The team is coached by rOTk, a historic Chinese offlaner and respected captain, who voiced concerns about his team after their performance at the Supermajor. He said that his team continues to make the same mistakes, and that he felt limited in his influence as a coach to correct their errors.

By making his frustrations public, rOTk risks unraveling the team apart, but at the same time he could be betting on the social pressure to have VGJ hone in on their mistakes, hopefully just in time for TI8.

Image by Team Liquid

With the final teams set to compete at TI8, we'll be taking a closer look at each of them. While every TI is marked with upsets—wildcard teams like CDEC rising to a 2nd place finish—they wouldn't be upsets without a consensus on what the stronger teams of the tournaments are. The Dota Pro Circuit has given us a metric on how to rank teams on the totem pole. It takes more than just wins at Majors, but also a sustained level of success to reach the top of the DPC standings.

Virtus.Pro is the runaway leader on the standings. The margin they have above the 2nd place team (Team Liquid) is greater than the total points of the 6th place team (Vici Gaming). VP was the first to secure their TI8 invite, and they haven't let up. Virtus.Pro have been on a roll ever since they added RodjER back in February this year. They won the Katowice Major just weeks after he joined, where he also acquired a new Mercedes E400 for being the team's MVP. Three months later, no[o]ne would win his own Benz as VP won ESL Birmingham.

Virtus.Pro plays with the style of aggression marked by CIS teams—a trend dating back to Na'Vi's early days—but they've managed to succeed where their countrymen have failed. Virtus.Pro rarely overextends, able to mete out just enough offense to push their chances of victory, without putting it in jeopardy. That's in part to their team cohesion, but also the decision making of their individual players. No[o]ne and Ramzes, VP's core 1 and 2 players, often initiate without pulling their teammates into a losing battle.

In this clip, they've baited Secret into the gank and successfully turned it around. Most teams would continue pushing here, picking off the remaining team members. It's 2v3 and both Void and OD have their ultimates. But instead, they dance backwards, just briefly, planting a Sentry Ward in case a Shadow Bladed Slark was also in tow. That moment allowed 9pasha to wrap around the back, let VP survey that they were in a winning position, and they finished off the remaining heroes.

Virtus.Pro enters TI8 as the large favorites to win it all. While they did lose to Team Liquid in a close 5 game series at the China Supermajor, VP still maintains a winning head-to-head record against the rest of their competition.

PSG.LGD, sponsored by Paris Saint-Germain, stands out by being one of the best teams in one of the toughest regions. While Chinese teams have not been as dominant in recent years, they still still hold 3 out of the 7 TI titles, and last year's event had 3 Chinese teams out of the top 4.

For a region with a surfeit of exceptional players, LGD has quite a few legendary ones. Maybe, LGD's franchise player since 2015, is one of the best mid players in the world. Fy was one of the best position 4 players, known for his aggressive rotations and spellcasting during his time with VG.

Chalice and xNova were new additions to the team and both were relatively new to higher level of competition. LGD finished 9-12th at their first LAN at ESL Katowice, but then at DAC 2018 they rumbled through Team Liquid and Virtus.Pro toward a 2nd place finish. They ended up losing to Mineski, who won the event.

Then, at Epicenter XL, LGD matched up against both Virtus.Pro and Liquid again. They bested Team Liquid twice, 2-0 in the upper bracket finals and 3-1 in the grand finals, as part of the double elimination format.

Chinese teams make up half of the top 8 on the DPC standings, but the three other teams—Vici Gaming, VGJ.Thunder, and Newbee—have had inconsistent performances. PSG.LGD carries the challenge of bringing the Aegis back to China.

All eyes are on the defending champions as we enter in TI8. They were the first team to ever sweep a TI grand finals, and as champions, they're one of the few teams who hasn't fallen into complacency. Wings.gaming completely dissolved after one of the most impressive runs at TI. Newbee reportedly shifted their gaming grind towards RPGs. It's surprisingly tough to win multiple TI, even if you're trying. Na'Vi came close to winning three years in a row (1st, 2nd, 2nd finishes). And Evil Geniuses, with varying rosters, has had the best success so far, placing top 3 in three consecutive years, in a time when the prize pool completely ballooned to 8 figures.

Perhaps partially invigorated by the inaugural year of Dota's Pro Circuit, Team Liquid has still been competitive at the highest levels. That's in no small part to having a legendary vet and one of the best captains in Dota, Kuroky.

Dota 2 Ti Schedule

Team Liquid has had only one Major win this year, but it was the most important one at the China Supermajor. On the road to their 1st place finish, they swept both Secret and PSG.LGD 2-0 in the upper bracket, then eked out a 3-2 victory over Virtus.Pro.

Dota Ti 20

Team Liquid already had a target on their backs as the defending champions. But fresh off their Supermajor win over the best team in Dota, they've set the bar for themselves to be the first team to become back to back TI champions.